So lately I have been noticing something wrong with my car, 2006 EVO. I'll be driving in 5th gear at about 65 MPH (3200mph give or take) and then step on the gas to pass or whatever and my rpm revs really high like 4000-4200rpms then kicks back down and the car accelerates. Does this sound like a clutch to you guys? It also happens in 3rd and 4th, but I have not noticed it in 1st or 2nd.

I took it to a local dealer and after they hassled me about the $100.00 i was going to have to pay for them to look at it they said they would "determine" if it was an issues of the car/mitsu or me, putting the emphasis on me so I know how this is going to go...they will blame me.

The car has 5800 miles on it, and most are freeway so It has to be a car/mitsu issue right? What do I do if they come back and blame me? has anyone had an issue like this? I did a little searching but didn't find much, so what right if any do we have?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Definitely sounds like a clutch. It goes in 5th first (most load) and works its way down the gears. They WILL blame you. Unfortunately, you can't "prove" to them (it's guilty until proven innocent for them) that it's all highway miles and that you haven't abused it... even if you TRULY haven't. Sincerely, good luck.

 

Oh yeah: Yes, there have been many issues like this. In fact Mitsu just announced an operating profit after years of financial distress, and one of the main reasons they cited is "decrease in warranty payouts". There's a lot of corporate pressure on local dealers and reps to find anyway to avoid paying the claim. *I don't know this as a fact, but this is what I've seen and read.

 

Yeah. good luck with getting them to warranty a clutch if that is in fact the problem. I had mine slip at 2400 miles out of nowhere with only very easy driving and when i talked to the service guys, they pretty much told me that i'm going to be screwed if I try to warranty it since its they said its a $1k tear down that i'd be responsible for if the district rep deems the clutch failure to be my fault.

Amazingly enough, i've yet to have the problem show itself again and i'm now at 4k miles. I do sometimes get a tiny bit of clutch stutter when doing a slow take off from a stop when the car is cold, but supposedly thats normal with these cars... "they say".

I'm putting money aside this entire time for an aftermarket clutch though. Because i'd rather be prepared to replace it than be stuck trying to find money if/when it goes bad.

 

Classic slipping clutch. If you don't drive a stick well and constantly ride the clutch or slip really hard every time you start from a stop, then it's likely from you wearing it out already. If you really drive well and have not done any launching or heat-producing slippage, then it could be a factory defect. They only warranty the clutch for 12k miles, and that's only if it's defective. They will not warranty it from basic wear. Mine went out at 7500, but I had been racing the hell out of it, and when it got taken apart, the hotspots on the pressure plate and flywheel were obvious, so I never would have had a chance for warranty to begin with. That's the problem, though. You can't see if it's defective unless you let them take it apart, and if they deem it not defective, then you pay for all that labor, plus a new clutch, flywheel, and re-installation of everything.

 

I have a complete clutch/flywheel setup waiting for me at my local shop, VIPGarage, should I need it in a pinch. Once it goes, it goes fast and the car becomes undriveable. Amazingly, my current spec stage 2 has lasted me nearly 25-30K even with a bunch of track days in there and many, many 6k launches.

 

Wow this really sucks! Pretty much what i thought would happen. Thanks for the input guys hopefully i can make something work out. In reality I havn't beat on my car that much some little pulls on the free way and what not but not hard track days and all that so... I'll keep you guys posted if you care maybe we can learn something from my case that will help someone else down the road.

Does anyone know of a good clutch set up that is under $1500.00 with install? Any install price range? At this point i am just going to expect the worse and have to drop the money to fix, dosn't help that i am a college student and have just enough income to survive.

 

damn, i buy my evo ix and im happy till i start reading about this.. im at 3,330 miles so far and now i have about another 3,000 more miles to go till i need another clutch? what a bad news post for a new evo enthusiast..
ALSO: since this post is about the clutch, i have an important question.. Im new to the awd system.. is it safe or recommended to drop the clutch at the 5k rpm rev limiter? i have not launched this car yet, and want to make sure im not hurting my car..

 

Slip it, don't drop it!

 

The life of the clutch is not determined by miles but by driving habbits. Be good to it and it will be good to you.

 

Good luck, you will need it.

 

Yeah i know i need all the luck i can get. I agree never drop the clutch slip it if you can. My habbits have not been that bad, thats my issues with this whole thing but like i said i'll keep you guys updated after monday.

 

My clutch in my car grabs way up top. I was reading throught the manual and it said there should be about 1/2 of an inch of free play (which there is). I have driven manuals for almost 10 years now and I don't see this clutch lasting very long at all.
Its a little off the subject but my dealer (VW) our clutchs are covered for 12 months of 12k which ever comes first. Even if there were signs of racing or what ever VW will cover anything God D*mnit I HATE warrenty

 

Clutch warranty is an oxymoron